


not actually a birthday fic at all

by otqps



Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: M/M, Non-Sexual Intimacy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-11
Updated: 2014-07-11
Packaged: 2018-02-08 08:49:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,779
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1934505
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/otqps/pseuds/otqps
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Akashi sighs, quiet, but he can still think of many, many more unpleasant things than being stuck on a plane for over half a day with Nijimura." </p><p>literally almost 5,000 words of nijiaka on a plane that i wanted to finish up in time for nijimura's birthday!! fluff, gross soon-to-be-married nerds, and sort of an intimacy study on some subtle ways to show how much your life has become a part of someone else's.</p>
            </blockquote>





	not actually a birthday fic at all

**Author's Note:**

> i'm not sure it'll bother anyone, but there is some depiction of someone taking anti-anxiety medication in this fic, and some mention of therapy -- both are positive things here!! it's in a good light, but in case anyone would rather not read that anyway, i just wanted to say. 
> 
> i spend a lot of time on planes lmao and i think it has hugely untapped potential for cute moments, so, i figured i'd do something for my otp with it. c:

It’s an evening flight, that works out easier for their respective schedules, and it’s not like they’re tourists, getting in in the evening doesn’t mean a day wasted in terms of sightseeing for them. It’s a decently long shuttle ride to the airport, with Akashi tapping on his phone the entire time. Nijimura busies himself with people-watching for the most part, but after ten minutes, he succumbs to putting his head on Akashi’s shoulder and grumbling something about a nap. He feels Akashi’s hand pat his knee in understanding, and Nijimura grins into the dress shirt Akashi has on. He’s wearing a damn tie, he usually is, despite the lengthy flight they have coming up and Nijimura just doesn’t get how that’s comfortable.

 

He’s gently shaken, on the knee again, by Akashi and the voice announcing the airport is the first thing he becomes aware of. Akashi stands up first, moving to reclaim their luggage and nods for Nijimura to exit first. Once they’re both off, Nijimura takes a suitcase from him so that they’re both tugging one, and Akashi’s lips quirk up, grateful, very briefly. Nijimura often feels like he’s not really dating someone who’s younger than him, not to mention still technically a teenager — Akashi’s carry-on bag is a briefcase with their passports, boarding passes, his laptop, the textbook he needs to write a paper, and a book for leisure reading.

 

What a nerd. Nijimura half expects a portable shougi set.

 

Walking through the airport itself is kind of hilarious in Nijimura’s eyes because Akashi’s natural ability and desire to lead has him gently directing which way they should go, even though Nijimura is reading the same sign he is at the same time. Neither of them comment on it; Akashi probably hasn’t noticed, and Nijimura just thinks it’s cute that he’s trying to handle the whole trip. He kind of suspects that it’s a nervous thing, given they _are_ going all the way to LA, and Akashi  is meeting his parents (who are much less scary than Akashi’s father, for the record).

 

They check their bags eventually, and Akashi feels a little too pleased about the contents of them, if he’s truthful. They’d packed together, Akashi had brought over his things to Nijimura’s apartment and they’d divided things up from there — they both have clothes in each suitcase, a purely strategic move in case one of them gets lost, and Akashi just enjoys sharing like that. It feels significant. It’s not particularly strange, though, he spends a lot of time at Nijimura’s place anyway and has things there. They’ve already, briefly, talked about moving in together, even. Akashi doesn’t want to leave home until he’s legally an adult, in order to prevent any issues with his father, and Nijimura has no real desire to live in the Akashi household. Akashi doesn’t blame him, it’s awkwardly extravagant and his father’s presence makes his life difficult and uncomfortable more often than not. He’d moved back to Tokyo for university, thinking he could spend time on campus or at other people’s homes (and he does), but it doesn’t get rid of the tension when he comes home. He would never subject Nijimura to that, even if his father is never outwardly rude or judgmental to anyone, about anything, but Akashi.

 

They’ve technically been dating a very long time, though. Since Teikou. So it shouldn’t actually surprise anyone, but Akashi still sort of marvels at it. Nijimura came back to Japan and though they had kept in contact and maintained their relationship and feelings for each other, Akashi had somehow been afraid that things would be different or uncomfortable. It hadn’t been. Akashi had gone to see him at his relatives’ home soon after Nijimura had arrived back in Tokyo and they had hugged and though they very clearly had grown up, Nijimura had messed up Akashi’s hair still and Akashi had kissed him in response, on impulse, and everything was normal.

 

That had been about 3 years ago, and things still felt normal. Serious, absolutely, but comfortable and familiar and  right , something Akashi is grateful for every day. They’re here, at an airport, walking to their gate, going to see Nijimura’s parents, and Akashi feels very, very fortunate. They have about an hour until they have to board, something Nijimura notices with a exasperated glance at Akashi, who had made a big deal about being early, but it’s not so bad once they find seats and Nijimura gets to settle into one. Akashi steals his hand, then, and threads their fingers together, giving it a squeeze. “Are you hungry?” he asks, surveying the area and shops.

 

"Kinda. I’ll probably wait a few, though. Gonna email Mom." Akashi nods, moving to drop his hand, but Nijimura hangs on to it tightly and works at texting one handed instead.

 

Apparently there’s no point in arguing the silliness in the gesture, because Akashi stays silent, but also looks fond. Nijimura can tell.

 

"Are  you hungry?" he asks, reminding his mother of their estimated arrival time — somewhere around 6PM.

 

"Not particularly," though he says it slowly, thoughtful, "but I wouldn’t say no to something, either. There are in-flight meals, as we discovered, but, there’s no promise of how appetizing they’ll be, I suppose."

 

Nijimura shrugs. “Lemme know. I, or  we , can make a food run.”

 

Akashi says “thank you” in the same tone he always does; warmly and with sincerity that never ceases to embarrass Nijimura.

 

Eventually they do go and buy some snacks, Nijimura grabs a bottle of water to bring on the flight with them, and after using the bathroom they make their way back to their gate. New seats are required, since they’ve been taken by now, but they still manage to snag two next to each other.

 

Boarding goes by slowly, even Akashi seems a little tired of it, but their seats on the flight itself are welcome by the time they get there. Nijimura shoves his backpack under the seat as Akashi pulls out his book before stowing his briefcase there, too, and Akashi settles in his seat and seems to finally relax a little.

 

Take-off is probably Nijimura’s least favorite part of flying, though. Akashi seems to remember that from middle school, because he offers his hand wordlessly once they actually reach the runway and though it’s  unnecessary and makes his cheeks go a little red, Nijimura takes it anyway. Neither of them comment on how tightly he grips it.

 

As soon as he’s allowed, Akashi pulls out his laptop to start reading notes from his classes and tilts the screen towards Nijimura so he can as well. It’s business coursework, not very exciting, but it’s probably stuff he’ll be reading, too. He has a feeling that he’ll be majoring in business too, and if they both end up working 9-5 company jobs then at least they have the same schedule. He’s not in college yet, waiting to save up money from his part time jobs so it’s easier on his parents, but the work experience is good too and he doesn’t have the pressure of inheriting something huge like Akashi does.

 

He pulls out his DS to play Animal Crossing after a while, something his siblings love too, in order to leave Akashi to his studying. It won’t last the entire flight, that’s way too long, so he doesn’t feel shunned.

 

"You’re playing my file?" Akashi asks, peering over at his avatar running around with a fishing pole.

 

"Somebody has to. You’re on, like, the second house upgrade."

 

"I’ll get to it, you don’t have to do that…" he’s definitely pouting, so Nijimura keeps right on playing.

 

"It’s nice to play the easy file, though." The teasing rolls off of Akashi, though, which is always nice.

 

"I can live with you being further in Animal Crossing."

 

"You sure?" he shifts in his seat to raise his eyebrows and give Akashi his best look of fake concern. He gets a chuckle back, a fitting reward.

 

"Quite. I’m not sure about Pokemon, though. Which is why I haven’t bought it."

 

One day, Nijimura thinks. One day. It’ll happen.

 

They sort of go quiet then for a while, Akashi tends to his paper since he has limited battery life and Nijimura engrosses himself in some serious fishing, not above switching the date to round out his collection. He bumps his knee against Akashi’s ever so often, though, just to remind him he’s there, and after the first few times, Akashi starts doing it too, which makes it a tiny bit of a competition but still sweet.

 

They get offered drinks, Akashi takes tea (of course he does), and Nijimura goes for a Coke, and so far it’s not so bad. But really they’ve probably only made it through a couple hours, neither of them are keeping track very well, and the seats are already kind of getting annoying but Akashi doesn’t want to dwell on it and he’d never complain anyway.

 

Hopefully they’ll both be able to sleep for a decent portion of it, but, maybe their choice in beverages was unwise. Akashi sighs, quiet, but he can still think of many, many more unpleasant things than being stuck on a plane for over half a day with Nijimura.

 

"What are you working on now?" he asks, not tearing his eyes away from the paragraph he’s working on, but feeling tired of the silence anyway.

 

"The arapaima and a whale shark. Their spawn rates are 1%, it sucks."

 

Akashi laughs, finally turning so he can briefly press his lips against Nijimura’s cheek, for encouragement of course. It’s very mild PDA and the person they share the row with is already asleep with their head against the window, so he doesn’t feel guilty. When booking their tickets, Akashi had, very reasonably, suggested the middle and aisle seat given most of the view would just be ocean anyway, and the bright sunlight from the window would be unappreciated by most passengers trying to sleep, so there wasn’t a lot of point. Plus, the aisle is convenient, naturally. He’s pleased with his efficiency even now.

 

"That’s sweet," Nijimura says, with his lips all pursed oddly as he makes another pass of the beach with no fins in sight, "but it’s not getting me my fish."

 

"Your fish. I see you switched files."

 

"You told me to, practically."

 

It takes a lot for Akashi not to snort.

 

"So I did. Is that all you’re missing?"

 

Nijimura passes over the DS for Akashi to scan through his encyclopedia, both fish and bug, cracking his knuckles and giving his hands a short break.

 

"So, that’s a ‘no’." Akashi gets a light elbow to the ribs. "It’s wise of you to focus on the difficult ones now, though, as there’s definitely no better use of your time."

 

"There never is, it’s Animal Crossing."

 

A dutiful, supportive boyfriend such as Seijuurou Akashi would never roll his eyes, so that’s certainly not what happens.

 

“You’re right, of course; I mean, there’s certainly no better use of your current, unconstrained time, to focus on what truly matters. Your museum collection, yes.” 

 

“Um, excuse me, do your paper. I’m not on this flight for that tone.” That’s a lie. He’s on the flight for that tone, and, like, every tone Akashi really produces because he’s smitten and it’s disgusting.

 

“Fine.” He has the audacity to sound petulant. Nijimura hates him. 

 

He catches his third regular shark, not a whale shark, but just a regular, plain, boring shark (worth money but not good enough), before he sighs and slumps further forward in his chair. “How’s business?” 

 

“Do you know what an oligopoly is? That’s what I’m reading about now, and attempting to regurgitate examples of.”

 

“No. That sounds gross, though, like every single thing you just said.”

 

“Ironically, I’m talking about Nintendo.” 

 

“Cool.”

 

It’s not cool. Akashi doesn’t think it is either.

 

Nijimura starts keeping track of the time based on the song in Animal Crossing, which has changed precisely three times now, and somehow has become probably the most accurate clock. There’s a TV screen built into the seats in front of him, and he figures he’ll scroll through the selections of movies in about… 20 minutes, maybe, and put down the DS for a while. There might not be anything  good , but quality isn’t really a necessity here anyway. 

 

Before he turns in his rod for the time being, Akashi shuts his laptop screen with a small, barely there nod that he probably doesn’t realize he did, and tucks it back into his briefcase. Feeling slightly less harried, he reaches for his book and lowers the armrest between their seats. 

 

“Bye, I guess.” The armrest is decidedly difficult to work around for any contact between them, and Nijimura takes the action as a very, very personal offense. It seems to take Akashi a second, and a blink or two, to realize what he’s done wrong, but he rectifies it without complaint and Nijimura appreciates that. 

 

He’s not seriously upset by it, but, it’s fun to tease and it’s a little flattering that Akashi doesn’t protest. What’s more flattering is how he shifts slightly, as much as one can in a seatbelt and annoying small seats, to lean against Nijimura’s side and sort of lean his head on his shoulder, which can’t be an  entirely comfortable position to read in, but he cracks the book open anyway. In an effort to reciprocate, Nijimura manages to sneak an arm around his back, though it’s awkward, and ends up playing his DS in mid-air, essentially, for the sake of this snuggle. 

 

“I can’t think of many things more inconvenient than this, actually, Shuuzou.” Of course, Akashi doesn’t actually move in light of saying that, which makes it a complaint rather Midorima-ish in nature, and Nijimura just tsks at him. 

 

They don’t make it very long like that, Nijimura’s arms start to ache and Akashi’s back very quickly starts to feel terribly twisted, so they straighten, but Nijimura starts to fumble with his backpack as soon as Akashi sits back. He’s dragging out several cords and a heavy looking silver rectangle that is clearly some form of electronics gadget, but Akashi doesn’t actually have a clue what it is. 

 

“I’ve never seen that before,” he says instead of asking directly and admitting to his ignorance of it, though Nijimura undoubtedly sees right through him, and because at this point it has become somewhat unusual for Akashi to not recognize one of Nijimura’s belongings and vice versa. It’s nice.

 

“I saved up for it a while back, but I don’t use it a lot. It’s an external battery pack, so I can charge my DS and stuff. Really useful for stupidly long flights. I can probably charge your laptop, too, if you need it again -- I brought a USB cable for it.” 

 

He spends a long moment being touched, but not exactly surprised, at Nijimura’s thoughtfulness before smiling softly at him. 

 

“I’ll let you know, but I think I’m going to put it away for a long while at least. We still have quite a bit of time here. You’re very sweet, though, and I love you.” 

 

The color of his cheeks turns very slightly pink at Akashi’s words, and Nijimura waves a hand, dismissive, because it really wasn’t a big deal. It’s just a USB cable, like. Seriously. 

 

“We may actually want to use it later, actually, because I did download the first few episodes of the anime you said you were interested in trying. I thought we could pass the time with something that’s likely to be entertaining, and help you get on a start on the series.” 

 

It’s Nijimura’s turn, then, to be a little touched -- it’s not surprising for him either though, Akashi is very attentive to the little details and offhand comments that Nijimura makes, which at times can be embarrassing, horrifying, or annoying, actually, but. It’s often sweet, even when it’s one of the others, too. Right now it’s pretty much just cute, though, and Nijimura likes that they both not only prepared ways to keep themselves occupied, but the other, too. 

 

“Sounds good. Little surprised you resorted to something illegal, but flattered.” He pulls the tray down from the seat in front of him and folds his arms on it, making a pillow for his head and flopping forward. “I’m gonna try to sleep, you can keep the light on to read if you want, it won’t bother me.” Then, a minute later, slightly muffled by the sleeves of his jacket, “I love you too.” 

 

So Akashi does, intending to make two chapters’ worth of progress before setting his own head down. Once he’s certain Nijimura has managed to doze off successfully, he reaches over to idly rub a hand over his back, in small circles; it certainly won’t do a lot for the ache he’ll have for sleeping like he is, hunched over, for hours, but. At least Akashi can feel like he’s doing something, and it’s more for the sake of touching him than it is anything else. 

 

Probably an hour passes before Akashi reaches up to fumble for the button to turn his light off, and he tucks his book into the seat pocket before leaning back once more; he doesn’t actually lower his seat, feeling it would probably make the person sitting behind him feel more cramped, so he simply crosses his arms and shuts his eyes. Falling asleep sitting up is not, by any means, the most difficult task he’s ever been faced with, and by his estimations, it’s actually past the time he usually goes to bed at night, so it shouldn’t be too bad.

 

He’s right, apparently, because Akashi jerks awake quite quickly when his watch’s alarm starts going off who knows how many hours later. Unfortunately, he doesn’t hit the button to stop the beeping quickly enough, because Nijimura stirs, too, letting out some groans as his back cracks. 

 

“I’m sorry,” he says, not quite whispering but still fairly quiet, “it’s just the alarm for my medication, you can go back to sleep.” Almost as soon as he says that, though, Akashi notes that most of the cabin around them appears to be asleep, and he certainly doesn’t have any of his tea left from the hours ago that it was offered. “I’ll be right back, I’m going to see about some water.” 

 

There’s a sleepy mumble in response, and just as Akashi moves himself to stand, Nijimura tugs on his arm instead to keep him there. “Nope, sit down, I got it.” Back in his bag he goes, fishing around until he finally finds his goal. Out comes the water bottle purchased back at the airport, which Nijimura then sets triumphantly down on the tray in front of him. “I bought it earlier just in case they weren’t bringing stuff around when you’d need it.” 

 

It’s not… a particularly huge gesture in and of itself, but to Akashi, it honestly means a lot. No one’s made him feel ashamed for participating in therapy, quite the opposite actually, his friends were supportive of him talking through his childhood’s stressors and working through that trauma. Things have been mostly about healthy coping mechanisms, realistic expectations for oneself, and the consolidation of his identities; he feels that massive strides of progress have been made in those respects over the years, and the medication now serves as a balancer for the anxiety he still feels. Nijimura knows all of this, of course, because Akashi felt honesty was objectively the best policy when regarding mental health -- it wasn’t really a strain on things, it was part of Akashi and that was fine. That’d been a relief for him, to say the least. It’s not like this is new, either, because Nijimura has been involved with him since he’s had a therapist and been on medication, it’s something he’s taken in front of him many a time, waking him up in the mornings in bed, too, to crawl out of bed for a quick glass of water. 

 

It means something different, though, that he had thought ahead so far and facilitated it for Akashi; it’s not just existing around Akashi’s mental health, it’s taking an active role in it. They’re on a plane to America where Akashi will meet his parents, so in all fairness, this degree of involvement is probably expected or at least normal, but that doesn’t stop it from feeling significant. 

 

He takes a breath, feeling mildly overwhelmed, and moves to pull out a pill from the bottle in his briefcase and takes a swig from the bottle to swallow. It’s about time he says something, surely, but it’s hard to work past the wave of fondness for Nijimura that he feels to actually articulate something. 

 

The moment he opens his mouth to speak, Nijimura cuts him off. “Sei, don’t. It’s okay, I know. But I bought you a water bottle, not… like, a car.” 

 

He doesn’t drive, Nijimura does, but that’s besides the point.

 

“You know it’s not really the water itself, but rather the incredible display of support and thoughtfulness that it implies.” 

 

His lips curl, clearly not happy.

 

“I said I know. And I’m telling you it’s not a big deal to me. I know it is to you. But I think you should let the whole, ‘wow it’s not a big deal to him’ thing sink in, too.” 

 

Nijimura is smiling at him now by the end of that sentence and Akashi is terribly endeared to everything about him. 

 

“I’m very lucky,” he manages, soft and smiling back at him a little. 

  
“Yep. Me too, though. I think Mom and Dad’ll really like you.” 

 

Akashi is 100% positive he can’t handle that right now on the heels of Nijimura’s behavior prior, it’ll probably break his heart in a good way. 

 

“Shuuzou?”

 

“Mhm?”

 

“Please go back to sleep, you’re too much.” 

 

“I’ll give it a shot,” he says, shrugging, and instead of using the tray as a pillow this time, Nijimura curls up to use Akashi’s shoulder instead. “Love you,” as if it wasn’t obvious and as if he hadn’t just given Akashi the most serious reminder of that possible, really. 

 

“I love you too. I’m excited to meet them.” He can feel Nijimura’s grin against his arm. It’s true, though, he is excited -- absolutely nervous as well, because he knows what his family means to Nijimura, but he gets to meet them, finally, after so many years, after hearing about them in middle school. 

 

Teikou had been awful in so many ways to all of them, but he could never bring himself to regret it entirely for a million reasons, really, not the least of which is the boy leaning against his side. They’ve come a very long way from being captain and vice captain, but Nijimura  still ruffles his hair sometimes and still manages to make Akashi feel young even though their one year age difference is barely noticeable at this point in their lives. 

 

They’ve both slept a great deal one day, Nijimura even more so, but a little more rest won’t hurt, especially since they still have to be picked up, unpack some, socialize with Nijimura’s family… and truth be told, Akashi needs all the rest he can get in preparation for that. He believes Nijimura, truly, that they’ll like him, but it’s still intimidating and he’d like to be at his very best for it if at all possible. 

 

Unfortunately, it’s hunger that wakes Nijimura up the next time, given they definitely slept through the first meal offered… he can only hope the next one will be soon. Akashi is asleep, too, he can tell; his head is slumped over onto Nijimura’s, which is still tucked into Akashi’s neck and shoulder, terribly stiff at this point. He’s really looking forward to an actual bed, and pillows, and blankets, like, really. 

 

There’s no real way to avoid jarring Akashi when trying to extricate himself from his current position, so he moves quickly, savoring the second or so where Akashi jerks awake in surprise and snickering a  little at it. “Think we should probably stay up now, y’know. We missed dinner. Or breakfast. Lunch? Is this going to be lunch? Or another dinner?”

 

Akashi looks at him blearily, eyes not exactly focused yet, and yawns behind his hand before speaking. “I’m not sure. I don’t think it matters much, though. Should I pull out my laptop for us to watch that show before we get caught up in food?” 

 

So that’s what they do, pulling down Akashi’s tray as well and having the laptop straddle both his and Nijimura’s, both of them wearing headphones connected to a splitter. It’s not Akashi’s first choice in television, but he’s acquired a taste for it and at the very least, the animation itself is really nice. 

 

“That guy sounds a little like you,” Nijimura says, entirely too amused with that, and Akashi just shakes his head.

 

Food does come eventually, and it’s an embarrassing scramble for a minute to move the laptop away so that meals can actually be set down, and it’s not the greatest meal in the world either, but it’s not bad, and they’re nearing the end of their trip. 

 

Once it gets thrown away, Nijimura lets Akashi try out Pokemon, watches him run around and decimate the first battle he comes across -- though that’s completely due _at least_ in part to the superior training Nijimura has given his Pokemon, but still, Akashi is, as usual, annoyingly good at new things. “Why did you pick Froakie?” 

 

“My siblings both liked Fennekin best. So if you pick Chespin to try and beat my starter, now, I’ll never forgive you.” 

 

Akashi’ll have to think about it, because honestly Fennekin  is pretty cute, but Chespin is, too, and being a brat like that seems entertaining. 

 

He plays and explores with Nijimura giving him pointers and directions over his shoulder until they’re asked to turn off electronics for their descent, which is when Nijimura gets nervous again anyway, so Akashi is happy to focus on clasping his hand once again and keeping him talking about his favorite spots in the city and his family.

 

“Is there anything I shouldn’t do? Anything especially offensive to them that I should know of?” He’d rather not stumble onto an uncomfortable subject or any sore spots, Akashi feels woefully ignorant as to what to  do in these situations, when meeting the parents of your probable spouse… Maybe he should have asked his father for advice, for the first time in years.

 

“If you relax and charm them like you do everybody else, you’ll be fine. They already know tons about you anyway.” 

 

That’s embarrassing, but the wheels of the plane touch down before he can give it a terrible amount of thought. De-planing is slow, but at least Nijimura knows where he’s going in the airport once they get off of it, so it’s his turn to lead Akashi around. Akashi’s English isn’t  terrible , but he’s suddenly massively intimidated because this is still his first time in a foreign country. He stays against Nijimura’s side when he emails his mother, and then they’re off to the baggage claim to collect their things and wait.

 

Standing there, sending emails of his own off to his friends and a brief one to his father to let them know they’ve landed safely, with Nijimura’s arm around his shoulders, Akashi feels rather content despite the undercurrent of nerves. He’s 19 years old, doing well for himself, taking care of himself, and has a fantastic peer group and partner. There’s not a lot more he could ask for. 

 

“Mom says she’ll be here in, like, an hourish,” which feels like a long time, suddenly, not because he’s tired or anything, but because Nijimura suddenly really can’t wait to find out what they think of Akashi. They do know about him, like he said, but it’s different, of course, when they get to see and interact with him themselves -- and he just wants them to be as enamored with Akashi as he is, really. 

 

Usually Akashi’s personable presentation and polite, appropriately friendly conversational skills are worth an eyeroll from him, just because he’s  such a high class brat, really, but in this case… he’s really pretty fine with his parents thinking Akashi is amazing. That’s kind of what the flight was for, anyway, and he’s not sure they have a choice either way. 

  
He’s “absolute”, after all, or something. 


End file.
